Augmented reality is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real-world, thus providing a composite (augmented) view of their real-world surroundings. The augmentation is usually done by adding extra data (e.g., holograms) to the real-world objects around the user. Consider, for example, a user who is traveling abroad. Suppose the user is interested in the history of the nearby buildings. The user can launch a history app enhanced with augmented reality capability on their smartphone and connect to the Internet. The app looks through the smartphone's camera and shows the real-world surroundings to the user. The user can point the smartphone at a building and in response the app can show a graphical callout (e.g., hologram) that provides some historical information next to the building, thus augmenting the real-world object (i.e., the building) with virtually generated information.
Augmented reality (AR) devices can come in a wearable form factor. The wearable AR device can be Internet enabled. The AR device can include a semi-transparent display that allows the user to view their real-world surroundings. The user can provide input (e.g., spoken commands) to the AR device to call up information about their real-world surroundings. In response, the AR device can display virtual information on the display, thus superimposing the information over the user's view of their real-world surroundings.